A good, "All Round" Veggie fertilizer (???)

[D.Reid]

Hello, Newbie gardner here that is trying hard. I'm in North Florida and am gardening in raised beds. Have a little bit of all the common stuff in and up but it just doesnt seem to be "taking off". May I ask the more experienced folks out there what a good "All-Round" fertilizer to side dress my plants and rows might be? Maybe this is what I might need to kick them into "gear"? I bought a bag of 10-10-10 but have not used it yet. Thought I might ask ya'll first. I dont think a liquid fertilizer would be my best bet because most of our soil down here is a mix of clay and sand. Being I'm in raised beds that drain well, I feel a liquid fertilizer would get "washed out" before the plants have a chance to get to it. Comments or suggestions?

Thank you in advance for you time. Dave...Down in Florida

[farmerdill]

10-10-10 will work for most veggies if you use it sparingly. Really good for corn and leafy vegetables ( cabbage family) too much nitrogen for beans, southern peas etc. 5-10-10 or 5 -10 15 is better because there is less chance of overdosing your plants on nitrogen. The foliar feeds like Miracle Gro are good for jump starting, not so good for regular feeding. Manures, blood meal, alfalfa meal, fish products also work, but are expensive.

[TQ]

I agree with FarmerDill about the high N. Be careful sidedressing you don't it up against the plant stem or it'll burn/kill them. Too much N on some plants will encourage lush growth and few flowers.

After transplanting, I water with a fish oil solution (5-0-0). Once the plants are established about a week or two later, I sidedress with a small handful of 5-10-10 on each side of the plant. The sidedressing is applied about 4" away from the plant the day before rain is expected. Then I lightly hoe it into the soil. Next time I hoe, I pull a little of the soil up against the plant.

[Penelope Periwinkle]

That's an "It depends" question.

Did you have your soil tested? If you already have a nitrogen heavy soil, putting 10-10-10 on it will probably give you plenty of lush foliage, but not a lot of fruit. On the other hand, if you have nitrogen deficient soils, 10-10-10 would probably be a good thing.

But...

This early in the season it probably won't hurt. Later you might want to try a veggie specific fertilize to encourage heavier fruiting. I usually start mine off with a kelp fertilizer, but I like to stay organic where I can.

You said your garden hasn't taken off. How long have the plants been in the ground, and what have the nighttime temps been? It's been alternating between unseasonably warm and unseasonably cool here in South Carolina. On the warm weeks, you can almost watch the basil grow, but on the cool weeks it just sits there looking gloomy.

Penelope

Penelope

[zxcvbob]

10-10-10 is OK. 10-20-10 or 12-24-12 is probably better for most crops. 15-5-9 or 20-3-3 is better for corn.

Fertilize lightly, except for the corn.

Best regards, Bob